Evita is currently running at London Palladium with Hunger Games and Snow White star Rachel Zegler in the leading role. The musical’s most famous song ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ is being performed on a balcony to people on the street below for free while the audience inside watches on a screen.
Crowds gather outside the venue daily to see this performance. For matinee productions, Zegler performs on the balcony at around 4pm but for evening productions this is at 9pm. Some fans are outraged due to spending money on theatre tickets to see the renowned show and then missing the live performance of the most iconic song.
During the song, Zegler’s character Eva Perón – the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón – is singing to the people of Argentina from the balcony of the Casa Rosada. The song is intended to be an emotional goodbye and reassurance to the people of Argentina before she passes away.
Fans have expressed their disappointment on multiple social media platforms. On Tiktok, one fan said: “I saved for ages to get these tickets. And now I won’t get to see it. It’s appealing for those inside.”
Additionally, another fan commented on an Instagram Reel saying, “I would be furious if paid for a ticket and she sung outside and wouldn’t buy a ticket now because of this!”
Director, Jamie Lloyd, is known for incorporating unconventional staging techniques and it is thought that he chose this performance to go to the public to symbolise Eva Peron (Zegler’s character) giving back to the people like she does in her speeches. The London public are meant to be the people that Eva would have spoken to.
The story of Evita follows activist, actress, and politician, Eva Peron who has evolved from her humble beginnings in poverty to becoming the most powerful women in Latin American.
This story first delighted the West End in 1978 and has become a staple of theatre with legends like Julie Covington, Elaine Paige, and Madonna, taking on the impressive song of ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.’
In Rachel Zegler’s passionate performance she is wearing a white strapless ballgown, blonde wig, and a chunky diamond necklace with a matching pair of earrings.
The feedback from fans has not been completely negative, as one fan wrote on TikTok: “I feel like this video unironically shows how accessible this makes theatre for everyone. Like I would cry seeing this heading home, knowing I wouldn’t be able to afford tickets or couldn’t make it to a show due to work or school or whatever.”
Additionally, on X a fan wrote the following: “Rachel Zegler’s out here serving EVITA realness on a *literal* balcony like she’s the main character in a telenovela about global domination. People are gathering like its Coachella for one song. Queen behaviour ONLY.”
The fan’s who have not been able to buy tickets for the production have expressed their positive opinions and believe that Zegler’s balcony performance is good as it showcases theatre to the people who are unable to see it.
Zegler rose to fame after staring as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story which saw her win the Golden Globe Award for best actress. She has since garnered a series of film credits including for the Hunger Games franchise, appearing in the prequel, The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, as Lucy Gray Baird, and also starred in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, both of which were released in 2023.
She went on to make her Broadway debut in 2024, starring as Juliet in Romeo And Juliet with clips going viral after Heartstopper’s Kit Connor, who played Romeo, did a pull up on stage to kiss her. Zegler is also known for starring in the title role of a live action film version of Disney’s Snow White.
Her portrayal of Peron in Lloyd’s production marks the actress’ debut on the West End. Evita opened on June 14 and will run at the London Palladium for 12 weeks.
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